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All three of them are holding glasses of what I’m guessing is whiskey, their go-to drink. I see a fourth on the table as well as a glass of rosé.
“I figured you could probably use a drink,” Christian says to me softly as we approach them. I force a nod and follow Jason who sits on a third sofa between the other two facing the table in the middle. He sits pulling me down, so I’m sitting next to him. Leaving very little space between us.
Jason leans forward and picks up the glass of wine and holds it out to me. As my fingers close around it I nearly spill the contents because I’m shaking so much. Jason quickly takes the glass and looks me in the eye.
“Take a deep breath Jazzy and remember what I said upstairs. You’re not in any trouble, we aren’t mad at you.”
I nod and close my eyes before taking a deep breath, followed by another one before looking back at him.
“You, okay?” he asks quietly, I nod and reach for the glass. This time when Jason lets go my hand doesn’t shake as much as I feel him squeeze the hand he’s holding, before giving me a small reassuring smile. He reaches over to pick up his glass and sits back on the sofa. Our hands still linked between us as I cling to it for support.
I look up and see Christian watching me.
“Areyou okay?” he asks softly.
“Not really,” I answer chuckling nervously.
“Want to tell us what’s been going on?” he asks. I quickly glance at the twins who are both watching me carefully. I take a sip of my wine before letting go of Jason’s hand and holding the glass with both of mine.
“I don’t know where to start,” I admit looking down. I feel Jason’s hand rub the bottom of my back.
“Why don’t you start with why you’re no longer at the house,” he says softly.
“I had to leave,” I admit.
“When?” Sean asks quietly.
“Five months ago,” I answer, not looking up from my glass, scared to see any signs of disappointment or anger on their faces.
“You told me you had been living in the flat for four months,” Jason points out next to me.
“I have.”
“So, where were you sleeping?” he asks.
“The first week I stayed with friends but that didn’t work out so I started sleeping in my car.”
I hear Maximus and Sean both curse under their breath as Jason’s hand stops moving against my back. I can feel Christian’s eyes on me, but I can’t bring myself to look up at him. I know if I do, I’ll cry, and I really don’t want to break right now.
“Your friends let you sleep in a car? Even Amber and Sophia?” Jason asks. I don’t need to look at him to know he’s angry. I take a deep breath as I think of the people, I used to think were my best friends. “It’s amazing how quickly people show their true colours when you need them for once.”
“Why did you move out of the house?” Christian asks. His voice not portraying anything, but I can’t shake the feeling of his eyes boring into me.
“It wasn’t safe there anymore; she’s drinking and using again.”
This time all four of them curse. They know Mum’s history with drugs and alcohol and that I was taken into care for short periods whilst I was younger.
“Is that why she and dad split up?” Maximus asks.
“I don’t know, no one would tell me anything,” I answer before taking a sip of my wine. Jason’s hand moves against my back, and I relax a little from his comforting touch. “I moved into the flat as soon as I saw it was available, I used the last of my savings to pay the bond and three months’ rent. The day I moved in I went over to the pub and asked for a job, they hired me on the spot. I’ve been working every night I wasn’t at rehearsals or performing. Some nights I went to the pub afterwards and cleaned.”
“How much was the pay?” Christian asks.
“Not enough, I had to make cutbacks, like the extra classes. This last month has been the toughest as the dance school said I had to make a payment towards my fees, or they would remove me from the school. They let me pay a little at a time. I guess Tommy stopped paying my fees when I stopped paying rent.”
“What do you mean you paid rent? On the house?” Jason asks. I look at him and nod. His head snaps to Christian who looks angrier than I’ve ever seen him.
“How much were you paying him?” Christian asks through gritted teeth. I want to sink into the chair and never come back out.
